Aussie firm beats French tech giant to build 3D model of Adelaide
An Australian company has won the contract to develop an interactive three-dimensional model of Adelaide, beating the French software giant contracted to help design Australia’s future submarines.
An Urban Circus concept image of the 3D model planned for Adelaide's CBD. Image: supplied
Urban Circus Pty Ltd has won a State Government tender to generate a 3D model of Adelaide’s CBD, Port Adelaide, Glenelg and Tonsley.
The model is intended as a futuristic planning tool to help policymakers and residents better visualise intended developments and foresee the consequences of future infrastructure projects.
Urban Circus was selected ahead of French company Dassault Systèmes, which had been pitching its “smart cities” concepts to the State Government and local media last year, including InDaily, and which is helping design software for Australia’s $50 billion future submarines project.
Urban Circus, which has offices in Melbourne and Brisbane, achieved “superior scores across the evaluation criteria” for the tender to develop the model over three financial years, starting this month and due for completion by mid-2020.
The company will partner with Adelaide companies Aerometrex and Convergen to deliver the model.
Urban Circus CEO Dr Ben Guy said in a statement that the planning platform would “support further intelligent growth of such a fine city” as Adelaide.
“With our platform, the result is accelerated development, which creates opportunity; from deeper, clearer conversations with all stakeholders to ensure quality placemaking.”
Planning Minister John Rau said: “This model will be a fantastic tool to help South Australians visualise new developments, what they will look like and how they will interact with their neighbours and the street.”
He added: “an interactive 3D model is another tool to embed good design into all new developments”.
The Adelaide City Council already has a 3D model of the CBD, which you can explore here.
But a Government spokesperson said the new model, which has been allocated a $1 million budget, would use “higher resolution data than was able to be captured just a few years ago”.
“It will be integrated with data from the SA Planning portal and with other State Government land use data, so will be a much more comprehensive look at approved, proposed and recently constructed.”
The Government claims its planning reforms since 2012 had “unlocked” 159 potential projects, valued at $5.24 billion in the CBD and inner metropolitan area.
